Security Experts Identify Dozens of iPhone Apps Vulnerable to Hacking

Hacking has turned out be a global issue and no matter how full proof a system is it remains vulnerable to the system of hacking. Most of the hackers are trained professionals who can very easily extract information digitally from our phones and computers. According to recent news, a group of security experts have discovered a flaw in several popular iPhone apps which can make the user’s device vulnerable to hacking. Through the mobile applications the hackers can very easily gain access to all the sensitive data including details about latest transactions and bank details.

33 Names Already Revealed 

Will Strafach, an Infosec expert recently published a blog post to caveat users that a scan of the regular Apple Store iPhone apps has identified 76 apps which can be used as a medium for hacking. Through these applications the hackers will play the role of ‘man in the middle’, and will gain access to all the useful data and information sent from phone to the cloud. The blog post also revealed the names of 33 such apps which are vulnerable including FirstBank, a banking app and a car application called Uconnect Access.

43 More Apps Named

That’s not all, the names of the apps already revealed are believed to be low risk and the blog further warns that there are 43 applications that are high risk apps. The name of these applications will also be revealed within a few weeks, after the developers have been given a fair chance to fix the flaws immediately. The Infosec expert revealed that this security hole can be derived by hackers through network related code be misconfigured in an unfortunate manner. He also stated that most of the names of apps already revealed are Snapchat add-on apps. These also include the apps used for uploading videos and photos to Snapchat and also those used for increasing Snapchat contacts. Another popular application which is a high risk app is Epic, which offers unlimited books for kids.

Onus of App Developers 

He also said that because of the type of flaw, Apple has not yet issued a widespread fix for that would make the applications even more vulnerable to hacking. It is the obligation and responsibility of the app developers solely to fix this issue and to ensure that their apps are free from risk of attacks. The blog post by Will Strafach contains the full names and details of the app list issued earlier. The scariest part of this is that all the 76 apps vulnerable to hacking have been downloaded and installed over 18,000,000 times.

The blog post not only reveals the name of these apps but also categories them into sections of low, medium and high risk. This will make it easier for the iPhone users to stops using the high & medium risk apps until the risk of attack is gone and the apps are safe to use. Strafach has also advised iPhone users to safeguard their device through properly configured VPN. If the users are not keen on using VPN, then they must switch off the Wi-Fi connection in all public places.